ASIC design engineers and ERP technical consultants are raking in the most per hour, according to the latest Yoh Index of Technology Wages.

Second-quarter tech wages continue to outpace those for 2005, according to the latest Index of Technology Wages, released July 24 from Yoh Services, a Philadelphia-based provider of talent and outsourcing services.

In addition, the current Q2 average is the highest since the Index began tracking wages in 2001.

The Indexwhich compares current average wages over the previous year and is used by Fortune 500 companies to determine salary scalesfound that despite the typical slowdown in hiring and spending in the summer months, wages remained on an upswing.

"It's not unusual for wages in general to follow slow spring and summer hiring trends, but technology wages still held on strong and continue to surpass pay from 2005," Jim Lanzalotto, vice president of strategy and marketing for Yoh, said in a statement

"Top talent have every reason to stay confident about the job marketdemand for high-level skills and deep-rooted industry experience is higher than ever but unbalanced with the shortage of talent to fill available positions."

Wages for highly skilled technology workers increased by 1.7 percent in Q2 2006, up 1.68 cents from the Q2 of 2005.

The growth rate of hourly pay in the second quarter dipped only slightly from previous quarters, down .87 cents from Q4 2005 and 3.16 cents from the Q1 of 2006.